Dime a Dozen
by NoNameForHire
Summary: 5 years ago, Cindy Vortex left for boarding school. 2 years ago, it was discovered that Jimmy Neutron was no longer a genius. Now that Cindy is back, trouble returns with her—much to her chagrin. When a new villain, calling himself Electron, appears, demanding that Cindy come with him, will Jimmy's genius return? Or will the group have to handle it on their own, without a genius?
1. Chapter 1

**All right, guys. I am taking a hiatus from my other story to write this one, because it was a dare from one of my friends. I never back down from a dare. I've never really explored cartoon fanfic, but hey, do it for the dare, right?**

 **I make no promises on when this will be updated. I'm thinking Fridays and Tuesdays, but don't quote me on that.**

 **By the way, Merry Christmas (Eve)!**

* * *

The bus was smelly and gross, but it was her only way home.

Cindy wrinkled her nose as an old man cracked open a bean can with his tooth. Even in the back of the bus, as far away from the other strangers as possible, the stench of unwashed undergarments and spilled fluids was strong. She made sure to keep her suitcase above the floor.

It didn't help that it was such a hot—or, well, warm—day. Cindy had grown used to colder temperatures over the past five years. No doubt the non-freezing temperatures were only ripening the aromas roaming through the bus.

She couldn't get up fast enough when the bus rolled to a stop. She shouldered her suitcase and muscled her way past the man with the bean can and a strange lady carrying a large load of coupons, arriving at the front of the bus right as the doors opened.

Cindy had barely taken her first step off of the bus before a head of black hair slammed into her in a giant hug.

"Cindy!" Libby cried. "You got so tall!"

Well, it wasn't really _that_ big of a deal, considering that she'd been under five feet when she'd left Retroville, but Cindy still appreciated the sentiment.

"So did you!" Cindy replied with a grin, drawing back from the hug.

Libby had, indeed, grown quite a bit. Her hairstyle was still the same as it was when they were kids, but she'd ditched the pink striped shirt in favor of an unpatterned purple one underneath a black leather jacket. She also wore blue jeans and black sneakers, and house keys hung from her belt.

In contrast, Cindy was still wearing her heavy winter coat. It was too large to fit into her suitcase, so she'd worn it to the airport and through her flight. She too wore jeans, but they were lined with fur. And instead of sneakers, she wore snow boots. She would have _loved_ to wear anything else for her trip home, but all of her clothes had been modified in some way to preserve body heat. She kept her blonde hair gathered into a tight ponytail as usual, but it was at the length where one strand would usually escape and fall onto her face. She blew it out of the way as she took in the new look of her old friend.

"Wow, Libby," Cindy said. "And you did that without my fashion advice? Five years can really change a girl."

Libby rolled her brown eyes. "Girl, please."

Before Cindy could say anything else, an older voice coughed. Immediately, she felt her posture straighten.

"Cindy, darling!" her mother exclaimed, reaching out her arms to hug her daughter.

The matriarch of the Vortex clan hadn't changed much, either. Other than the few gray hairs in her black hair, Cindy's mother looked much the same as she did before. She still wore that ridiculous purple dress, and she still had the green eyes that they shared.

Surprised, Cindy reached out to return the hug—until she realized that her mother was only reaching out to take a coupon from the strange lady behind the fifteen-year-old.

She sighed. "Nice to see you too, mother."

She should have known better than to expect a warm welcome. After all, not much can change in five years. Unless it was fashion, apparently.

Cindy adjusted her suitcase and took a few more steps onto the sidewalk, looking around as she did. Retroville looked the same as it did when she had left for the Stockholm Academy for Children with Know-How—or SACK for short. Everyone looked older, but the pie truck was still coming around the corner and the Candy Bar was still open.

"Right!" Libby said, pushing Cindy forward from behind. "Let's get going! We have a lot to do today!"

"Wha—Libby, I just got off the bus from a fifteen-hour plane ride!"

"Exactly! We're burning daylight!"

Cindy rolled her eyes.

Just like old times.

* * *

"JAMES ISAAC NEUTRON!"

Jimmy winced. What had he done this time?

A moment later, Judy Neutron appeared in the doorway of his room, her auburn hair gathered into an old fifties hairstyle. Her green and white polka-dot dress had a little bit of dust on it, and her hands were covered in yellow rubber gloves.

Judy held up a dirty plate. "How many times have I told you to clean up after yourself, young man?"

Jimmy rubbed the back of his neck, putting down his screwdriver on his desk. "Gee, sorry mom. I just got really caught up in my work, and I—"

"Oo!" his mother exclaimed. "What are you making this time? A time machine? A super magnet? An ultra-teenage-girl repellant?"

Jimmy felt a strange pang in his chest, and frowned. After an awkward moment, he shook his head. "Mom, this is just a model of the moon for my science class."

"Oh." Judy seemed to visibly deflate, mirroring the rollercoaster of Jimmy's emotions. "I forgot about your condition, honey."

Jimmy forced a smile. "It's all right, mom. I'm just…not smart anymore."

Her brows furrowed. "Oh, don't say that, honey!" She started to walk forward, probably to give him a hug, but then realized that she was covered in dust and cleaning chemicals. Instead, she frowned at him sadly. "You're still smart. Maybe not like you were, but smart all the same. Don't listen to what the kids at school tell you."

 _It's not them I'm worried about,_ he thought, then banished the notion.

Jimmy nodded. "I guess you're right, mom," he said, more to appease her than anything. "I have to get back to my project. I really need a good grade in science."

He lifted the spherical model in his hands and started to peer at it, but his mother started to speak to him again.

"All right. But when you're done with that, I need you to do your chores. I want the outside of this house to be spotless."

He barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He loved his mother, but sometimes she was an absolute clean freak. "Why does the outside of the house need to be spotless? It looks fine to me." Jimmy reached for his screwdriver.

"Oh, there's some event going on across the street," Judy replied. "It probably has something to do with Cindy Vortex coming home."

The unfinished model of the moon crashed to the floor, along with the screwdriver.

" _Cindy is back?!"_

* * *

 **Right. Please shoot me a review, somebody. I know that this section of fanfiction doesn't really get that much traffic, but I have zero self-confidence, so it would help if y'all could help me out here. Thanks!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's a gift for y'all (if anyone is even reading this). Got a little bored, so decided to update early. I've already got plenty written for this story.**

* * *

"Ah, Purple Flurp," Cindy said, holding up a can to the sunlight. "How I've missed you."

"You're telling me that Sweden didn't have any Purple Flurp?" Libby exclaimed.

Cindy shook her head. "None. Not even a drop."

Libby shivered. "Those savages."

They were on their way to Cindy's house, dragging her suitcase behind them. Cindy's mother had hurried off in her car soon after greeting her daughter at the bus station, with nothing more than a muttered explanation that Cindy hadn't been unfortunate enough to catch. Now, as they rounded the corner to her street, she felt a strange flip-flop in her stomach as she recognized an old house. But it wasn't her house—it was the Neutron house.

She immediately pushed the thoughts that realization brought from her mind. It had been five years. Even if she _did_ still feel that way—which she was fairly (okay, sixty percent) certain that she did not—it was likely that Neutron had found some other girl to go on adventures with. Someone like Betty Quinlan, or April, or—

Cindy was _still_ thinking about it. She sighed in frustration and forced her eyes away from that house. Luckily, something else captured her attention.

"Libby," she said, "what are those and why are they outside my house?"

Cindy's house—glowing bright pink in the afternoon sun—was surrounded by people carrying speakers inside, by people carrying tables, and by people hauling twelve packs of Purple Flurp. Inside, lights were being strung up. It was the making of a party.

"It's for your welcome home party, girl!" Libby said, raising an eyebrow. "What did you think it was, an invasion?"

 _In this town, it wouldn't surprise me,_ Cindy thought. "Libby, you can't have a party at my house!" She struggled for a reason, other than her exhaustion. "I don't have anything to wear!"

"Oh, don't worry about that!" Libby replied, grabbing Cindy's arm and dragging her forward. "I updated your wardrobe when I heard you were coming back!"

Cindy started to protest, but Libby was not having any of it. Soon, she was shoving her way—and Cindy's—past the helpers and into the house through the open door.

The inside of Cindy's house hadn't changed much in five years. There were still pictures of all of Cindy's achievements everywhere—which used to give her pride. In her tired state, she couldn't care less. The wooden floor was still spotless, and the purple wallpaper was still slightly sparkly. But where was—?

"BARK!"

Something big and yellow and furry slammed into Cindy, knocking her to the polished floor. For a moment, she panicked, until she realized what it was.

"Humphrey!" she exclaimed, scratching the golden retriever behind the ears as she laughed. Above her, the dog's tail wagged furiously as he licked her face.

When Cindy finally managed to free herself from her dog's embrace, she was covered in slobber, but she was grinning. It was good to see that her mother had taken care of her dog while she was gone. Now all there was left to check was her room, and the supply of clothes that Libby had bought her.

"Who all did you invite to this party?" Cindy asked, dusting herself off as she watched several people setting up the twelve-packs of Purple Flurp.

"Oh, just most of the kids in Retroville," Libby responded, sampling some of the Purple Flurp.

Cindy sighed. "And I suppose I have to go to this."

"Yep!"

She rolled her eyes. "I missed you, Libs."

"Missed you too, Cin."

Cindy turned to go upstairs, but something she saw out her window made her pause. Across the street, the door was open.

Jimmy Neutron was dragging the trashcan down the driveway, seemingly struggling to do so. Despite herself, Cindy felt her jaw drop open.

Neutron had ditched the get-up he'd worn every day of their childhood. Instead, he wore blue jeans, a black t-shirt, and a red, unbuttoned flannel shirt. His hair was still as brown and strange as before, with part of it sticking up like Goddard had licked it. He had grown taller, though he still seemed to be a little shorter than Cindy was, and his head was just as big. Still, it was odd that he was taking the trash out himself and hadn't invented some strange gadget to do it for him. The moment he had the trashcan at the bottom of his driveway, he rushed back inside, almost as if he were afraid to be seen out in the open.

Odd.

Cindy shrugged, and turned back to her own house. When hadn't Neutron been a little strange? Maybe he'd even show up to the party, and they could have a proper conversation.

Eh, probably not. After all, not a lot could change in five years.

* * *

"I can't do it!" Jimmy exclaimed, grabbing both sides of the doorframe so as to not be dragged out of his own home.

"Come on, Carl! Push!" Sheen shouted, tugging on one of Jimmy's shoes. It popped off his foot, and Sheen crashed into the dirt.

"Jimmy, move!" Carl whined. "You're hurting my scapula!"

Jimmy rolled his eyes and stepped aside so that Carl could step out of the house, clutching his back and panting. He took a hit off his inhaler and wiped the sweat off his brow.

Jimmy crossed his arms. "There is no way you can force me to go to that party!"

He nodded across the street, to where strobing lights in the windows of the Vortex house shone. He could hear music blasting from the building, and saw multiple people dancing. Even just looking at the house sent a spike of nervousness through him.

Cindy had left for Sweden five years ago, and it had been like a punch in the teeth from Butch. He'd done his best not to think about it, but once his genius left him, it had grown immeasurably harder. Now that she was back, he had no idea what was going to happen. Jimmy had grown used to the idea of not knowing something, but for some reason this particular notion bothered him more.

"But Jimmy!" Sheen said. "When was the last time you went to a party?"

"Libby threw one last week, remember?" Carl replied.

"Oh, right." Sheen scratched his head. "Well, when was the last time you went to a party at the Vortex house!?"

"Miss Vortex threw a dinner party two weeks ago, remember?" Carl pointed across the street. "Our parents all forced us to go."

"Oh, right."

"I'm not going!" Jimmy repeated.

"Oh, yes you are!" Sheen said, crossing his arms with that familiar crazy look in his eyes. "I promised Libby that you would be there, and I always keep my promises!"

"You once promised me that you wouldn't make fun of llamas," Carl commented in a soft voice.

Sheen rolled his eyes. "That doesn't count! You're not a girl, and llamas are stupid!"

"Are not!"

"Are too!"

"Are _not!"_

"Are _too!"_

Jimmy made a face at their childish arguing and took slow steps backward, hoping that they wouldn't notice he was gone until he had locked the door behind him. Unfortunately, he stepped on a twig, which snapped just loudly enough to catch his two best friends' attentions.

"Oh, no you don't! Carl, grab his legs!"

"Wha—guys, get off me!"

"Ow, Jimmy! That was my scapula!"

Before Jimmy knew it, he was being hauled across the street like he was a piece of furniture, despite his struggling. Sheen was laughing like a madman in his ear the entire time, and Carl was struggling to keep Jimmy's legs up. Unfortunately, it seemed that all of Jimmy's struggling was in vain, because they were plopping him in front of the Vortex front door a moment later.

"Let go of me!" Jimmy grumbled, shaking Sheen's arms off of his shoulders as they set him down. "God, manhandled by my own friends."

"Don't worry, Jim," Carl said. "All you have to do is talk to Cindy, and then you can leave."

"Carl!" Sheen exclaimed, hitting the pudgy boy in the back of the head.

"Ow!"

Jimmy felt panic slice through him at Carl's words, and immediately tried to make a run for it. But Sheen and Carl already had their hands clamped on his arm, and Sheen was already ringing the doorbell.

A moment later, Libby opened the door, holding a can of Purple Flurp. "Oh, hey, guys."

"Libby!" Jimmy exclaimed. "You've gotta help me! These two are—"

"Holding you against your will? I know. I told them to." Libby smiled innocently. "Come on in, guys. I'll go get Cindy."

The three boys watched as Libby walked off.

"That girl is diabolical," Jimmy commented.

"And that's why I love her," Sheen said in a smitten voice. "Now get inside!"

Jimmy struggled up until they shoved him inside the house, then slumped in defeat as the door thudded shut behind him.

"Relax, Jim," Carl said, patting Jimmy on the back. "It won't be that bad."

"Easy for you to say," Jimmy replied, feeling incredibly defeated. "You didn't use to be a genius. What if she's expecting that Jimmy?"

Carl thought about that for a moment. "It'll be fine. Just be yourself!"

"Nobody wants that!" Sheen interrupted, patting Jimmy on the shoulder rather forcefully. "Be Ultralord. Women love Ultralord. That's how I won Libby—with the Arcturian Dance of Wooing from episode 921, 'The Courtship of Ultralord's Father.'"

"Sheen," Carl warned.

Sheen deflated. "Did I barf Ultralord information again?" Carl and Jimmy nodded vigorously, and Sheen sighed. "Oh, well. I'm off to synchronise my sugar high with the music. See ya!"

Jimmy gaped after the tall boy, feeling more confused and panicky than ever. What was it he was supposed to do again?

Escape. He had to escape.

"Look, Carl!" Jimmy said, pointing at the outdoor pool through the window. "There's a llama out there!"

"Really? Where?" Carl grinned and rushed off in the direction of the pool.

Immediately, Jimmy turned around and tried the door, but it wouldn't budge. He tried harder, tugging on the handle until he saw stars that throbbed in time with the music, but he couldn't get the door to open. When he looked out the window, he saw a couple of teenagers melting the hinges on the door with Purple Flurp. Great.

His only other option was to hide until he could think of another way out of there.

Jimmy straightened his flannel and swallowed, looking around for a suitable hiding place. It was hard to see through the crowd of people, especially because they were all dancing to Libby's playlist, but eventually he managed to locate the bathroom, which was right next to the table of food and Flurp.

He pushed his way past Oleander and his girlfriend, who were busy making out in the middle of the walkway. It was all that Jimmy could do not to run for his designated hiding place. He wasn't entirely sure why he was feeling so anxious over something as simple as a reunion, but it felt like his head was going to split open.

He was about halfway to the bathroom before somebody stepped in front of him, knocking him to the floor—which was now sticky with soda.

"Hey, watch it, Neutron!" Butch barked, turning around and shaking a meaty fist at him. The bully had grown even larger in recent months, becoming the quarterback of the Lindbergh High School football team, which meant that he punched even harder now than he had when they were kids. His red hair still hung over his eyes, and he was wearing his green football jersey.

Jimmy picked himself up off the ground, picking crumbs out of his hair. "Sorry, Butch. Listen, I really need to get to—"

"It's a good thing you're here, Neutron," Butch said, crossing his arms. "We have a paper due for English that I need you to do for me."

Jimmy winced, feeling anxiety coil in his stomach for an entirely new reason. "Butch, I'm not going to do your homework. I need to get to—"

"What about my math homework? You've always been good with that."

Jimmy grit his teeth. "I'm not going to do _any_ of your homework, Butch! Now get out of my way!" He tried to walk past, but evidently he had said the wrong thing.

Butch shoved Jimmy backward, and it was only some quick-thinking on his part that stopped him from falling over. "You'll do my homework or you'll regret it, Neutron."

"Butch," a new voice exasperatedly said, "You're so dumb that Neutron could put any answer on your paper and you'd never know the difference."

Jimmy and Butch both turned, and both gave little yelps of fright, though for different reasons. Cindy Vortex stood in front of them with her arms crossed, looking very upset.

Despite the current situation, Jimmy's heart did a kick-pivot-slide in his chest (or a kick-slide-pivot-pivot, depending on who he asked). Cindy looked…well, she looked older and more mature, and it was doing strange things to his sensibilities.

Cindy was wearing black jeans and a dark green tank-top underneath a dark orange jacket. Her blonde hair was gathered in a neat ponytail, and her green eyes glared at Butch fiercely. It wasn't that the outfit was particularly glamorous, but Jimmy felt his throat tightening nonetheless. It seemed that she had grown a hundred times more beautiful in Sweden. For a moment, he had the wild idea that cold weather somehow increased beauty, which was followed by the even wilder idea of saying something to let her know about that increased beauty. He bit his tongue and settled for just staring at her instead.

"Vortex," Butch said. "Nice of you to come back home to defend your—"

"Finish that sentence," Cindy said, crossing her arms. "I dare you."

Even though Jimmy couldn't see Butch's eyes, he could tell that the bully was considering it. On the one hand, Butch was the star quarterback and didn't want to be undermined by one girl. On the other, Cindy was incredible at karate, and everyone knew it.

Finally, Butch backed down. But he did point a finger at Cindy in what he probably intended as a threatening manner. "You watch yourself, Vortex. Five years can change a lot."

"Doubt it," Cindy muttered. Then, as Butch passed her, "Yeah, keep talking, Butch, it's all you're good for."

He growled a curse as he passed, and then Jimmy and Cindy were left facing each other in the middle of a party.

That familiar panic returned, and Jimmy seriously considered trying to make a break for the bathroom anyway. What was he supposed to say to her? He wasn't a genius anymore.

"So, um…" he started, clearing his throat. "H-how have you been the past five years?"

* * *

"H-how have you been the past five years?"

Jimm—er, _Neutron_ looked sort of nervous. It might have just been the warm temperature in the room, but he had a bead of sweat working its way down his giant forehead. His hands fidgeted nervously with each other, and he seemed to be avoiding looking anywhere near her. His voice had gotten deeper over the years, and it sounded strange to hear him without the voice of a ten-year-old.

Someone deep inside, it gave Cindy a flash of pleasure that she was having this sort of effect on the boy genius. She tried her best to silence it, but it was almost as if the past five years had never even happened in the first place. Her heart still pounded traitorously out of her chest, and her palms started to sweat. It took her a few moments to beat down the frivolous feelings of her youth before she could speak.

"Uh…cold," she eventually said. "Sweden isn't very warm."

The big-headed genius chuckled quietly. Around them, Cindy thought she could see money changing hands. Great—people were _betting_ on them. It wasn't like they had a thing! They didn't have a _thing!_

Cindy swallowed tightly. Why was this so awkward? She and Neutron were friends, weren't they? She was perfectly capable of making conversation with him. After five years. In front of everybody.

"How have you been?" she asked, hating the slow blush that crept across her cheeks.

Jimmy opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, some kind of strange feedback burst through the speakers.

Or, at least, Cindy thought it did. After a moment, she realized that the sound was coming from somewhere else, and it was very different than feedback. It was a roar, the kind that came from an engine.

Rockets. And the sound was coming from her front lawn.

* * *

 **How'd I do? I tried to capture each character accurately, but it was a little hard. Hope you guys enjoyed (those of you that are even reading, as I update this, there are only 26 views). Please review, in the giving spirit of the Christmas season.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Happy New Year! I apologize for the shortness of this chapter and the slow start to this story. It'll pick up soon, I promise! I hope I captured the characters right. Enjoy!**

 **FWI: I had a bit of difficulty describing Electron's robo-suit. If any of you play Fallout Four, think a suit of power armor from that game, that should help you imagine what his suit looks like.**

* * *

It didn't take Cindy long to bust through her front door—some idiot had broken the hinges—and onto her front lawn. It also didn't take long for the crowd inside to follow her outside, curious as to what was happening.

She should have known better than to be surprised by the sight of a suit of robotic armor descending onto her grass. This was Retroville, after all. She just hadn't expected it so soon.

The suit of armor in question was bulkier than the ones she had grown used to seeing as a child. It was shaped more like a shell, one designed to fit around a man. Thick metal limbs surrounded the wearer, making them stronger. There had to be at least a foot of metal separating the man inside from the outside world, with how thick it was. A large, metal helmet sat on his head, obscuring his face.

The crowd quickly grew silent as the man in the robotic suit touched down on the front lawn. It was so quiet, in fact, that Cindy could hear Humphrey barking upstairs in her room.

"I," the man in the armor said, his voice disguised by some sort of voice modulator, "am Electron, and I—"

"That's a lame name!" someone in the crowd shouted.

"Yeah!" another person that sounded suspiciously like Sheen yelled. "Go back to your mommy, dweeb-tron!"

"Sheen, shut up!" Libby's voice hissed at him.

"It's a _cool_ name!" Electron barked at them. "Now be quiet!"

Surprisingly, his words actually worked, and the crowd quieted again. Maybe it was the giant robot suit.

Cindy wasn't sure what came over her. In one moment, the courage of her youth had returned, and she was spitting out something snarky a moment later.

"I don't care who you are!" she yelled at the man. "Get off my lawn, you bucket of bolts!"

Electron's helmeted head swiveled to look at her, standing at the front of the crowd. Cindy thought she could see Libby shaking her head vigorously at her, but it was already too late.

"Cynthia Vortex," Electron said, his voice turning into an electronic purr that made her shudder. "How nice of you to return to Retroville."

Cindy's eye twitched. Before she could bite out another sardonic comment that probably would have gotten her vaporized, Electron was speaking again.

"If you would be so kind as to come with me," he said. "I would be very pleased."

"I'm not going anywhere with you, you tin-plated dipstick!"

Electron didn't move, but Cindy imagined that she had just pissed him off.

"If you don't come with me," he bellowed in his disguised voice, "I will destroy Retroville!"

"Big deal!" Sheen shouted, stepping forward so that he was visible. "Retroville is almost destroyed every other week!"

"Sheen, shut up!" Carl said, elbowing the hyperactive boy in the ribs. "That hasn't happened since we were kids!"

"Oh, right."

Cindy rolled her eyes and turned back to Electron. "In your dreams!"

Electron growled in frustration, and with his voice modulator it sounded like a bear. "Then I guess I'll have to teach you a lesson, Vortex!"

The next thing she knew, there was an energy cannon materializing out of Electron's left hand. She had half a second to think, _Crap,_ before she forced herself to dive to the side.

 _BOOM!_ An energy blast hit the grass right where she'd been standing before, sending the crowd running and screaming and sending up the smell of burnt plants into the air.

 _Wonderful,_ Cindy thought. _I'm back for a few hours, and already everything goes to hell._

She dragged herself to her feet and looked around for anything that could help take down an energy gun wielding maniac. The only thing she saw was a metal fork that someone had discarded on the ground.

But she _did_ see Jimmy Neutron—hiding behind a trash bin and looking every bit as terrified as the other people around them. Why wasn't he pulling out a gadget or trying to invent something that would get rid of Electron?

Cindy grunted in frustration as Electron's energy gun charged up again. She would have to fix this herself.

Despite all the screaming and people running around her, she was able to fabricate a plan that would either work or get her and everyone else killed. Then again, what plan didn't have its flaws?

Banishing the fear that she felt, Cindy ran forward, scooping the fork off the ground as she went. Electron stood just a few yards ahead of her, charging up his energy beam once more. By the time he realized what she was doing, it was too late.

"No! Stop!"

Electron tried to step forward, probably to crush her, but Cindy rolled out of the way and behind Electron—and because his suit was so big, he didn't have enough maneuverability to turn around quickly enough to stop her from doing what she did next.

Cindy spun around so that she was facing the backside of Electron and grabbed onto one of his giant legs. With one hand, she clung on even as he started to turn around, and with her other, she stabbed the metal fork into one of the hydraulic plastic pipes.

Immediately, hot steam burst out of the suit, and Cindy jumped away, right in time for the suit to malfunction.

The right leg of Electron's suit started to fire its rocket, sending the villain flying into the sky, shouting curses in his mechanized voice. A moment later, the lawn was empty of all people who meant anyone harm. Well, except for Butch.

Cindy ran a hand through her hair.

There was no way that this was over.

* * *

 **hmm...not very pleased with this chapter. Any opinions, anyone? Please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Right! So this chapter is pretty long for you guys, and I hope you like it. Please give me a heads up if you think I'm not being true to the characters - that's my biggest pet peeve. That and grammatical errors.**

* * *

Beep! _Beep! Beep!_

Cindy groaned and reached over to press the snooze button on her alarm. Eyes still closed, she idly wondered what time it was before sleep captured her again.

" _BARK!"_

Cindy woke with a start and rolled over to see Humphrey waiting at the foot of her bed, whining anxiously. She frowned, wondering what the problem was, until she looked at her clock.

7:01. She had less than twenty minutes to get to school!

Cindy cursed and rolled out of bed quite literally. She hit the floor with a _thud,_ cursed again, and hauled herself to her feet. The next few minutes were filled with more swear words that her mother would have crucified her for saying and a flurry of activity, trying desperately to get ready as fast as she could.

Cindy had been planning to get to her first day of school back home a little early, to avoid the teachers making a big deal of her arrival in Retroville after five years. The problem was that she was still incredibly jet-lagged—being on a plane ride for fifteen hours from a place that was six hours ahead could do that to a person. Still, five years away from home had not diminished her sense of discipline or perfectionism, and she was not about to be late on her first day back. What kind of first impression would that give?

Then again, she had also learned that the elementary school had been converted into a high school, mostly because a majority of the kids in Retroville were the same age, and the small building they had been using before was too small to hold all of them. And most of the teachers were still there. Cindy didn't have her schedule memorized yet, but she was sure that Miss Fowl would be one of her new/old teachers. After all, the woman was practically immortal, and it was unlikely that the birdlike woman would have perished during Cindy's brief stay in Sweden.

Cindy paused in the middle of throwing on a green, long-sleeved t-shirt. She was getting distracted. It was now 7:03. There was no way she could walk to school now, which is what she had been planning originally.

A minute later, fully dressed and stuffing school supplies into her backpack, Cindy dialed Libby's phone number. The phone rang twice before her best friend picked up.

"Hey, Cindy."

"Libby! Listen, can you pick me up? I slept past my alarm and it's—" Cindy glanced at her clock. "—7:06. What time does school start again?"

"7:15 is the warning bell. Don't worry, girl, I've got you covered. Sheen and I can swing by and drive you to school."

Cindy hesitated. Sheen?

 _Driving?!_

Exactly three more minutes later, Cindy shut the door to her house and locked it behind her right as a gray, rusty car appeared on the street. It parked in her driveway, and sure enough, Sheen was at the wheel.

While Cindy doubted Sheen's compulsive nature had changed much in the past five years, his sense of clothing style sure had. Gone was the Ultralord t-shirt that Sheen had worn obsessively. Instead, he wore a gray, almost silver shirt with green jeans and a blue beanie over his mess of black hair. He appeared to have grown the most since the last time she'd seen him, and if he had been standing and not behind the wheel of a car (which, by the way, was _terrifying_ ), Cindy knew that he would be at least six inches taller than her. Considering that she was tall for a girl, about five feet and eight inches, that was quite a height.

"Hi, Cindy!" Sheen said in that brash voice of his. His voice had grown deeper, too, though not as deep as Jimmy's.

"Hi," Cindy said briskly, checking her watch anxiously. 7:10. She threw caution to the wind and jumped in the backseat of Sheen's car—which was covered in old wrappers and smelled suspiciously like candy. "Can you get me to the school before the late bell?"

"Can I?" Sheen asked, that wild look in his eyes.

"He can," Libby assured Cindy, turning around in the passenger seat to give her a reassuring look.

Cindy wasn't so sure. "How did you get your license, Sheen?" She knew that the hyperactive boy had been held back twice, which meant that he was certainly old enough to _qualify_ for a license. But how on earth had he managed to pass his driver's test?

"Oh, it's easy!" Sheen replied as he pulled out of the driveway. The car swerved for a moment before he pulled it onto the street and started to drive. "It's not that different from driving the hovercar!"

Cindy didn't find much comfort in that. "Didn't you _crash_ the hovercar?"

Sheen frowned and turned around to look at her, narrowly avoiding crashing into a trashcan as he did. "Uh…which time?"

Libby smacked Sheen's arm. "Keep your eyes on the road!"

"Right!"

Cindy searched frantically for a second seatbelt, maybe even a third, but eventually settled for gripping the backseat handle as tightly as she could.

 _It probably would have been safer to hitch a sled to the back of my airplane to get back home_ , Cindy thought. _If I get out of this alive, I'm riding the bus from now on._

* * *

"Jimmy," Carl said, scratching his head. "Why are you carrying an extra bag?"

"Because," Jimmy grunted, dragging the second backpack up the steps to Lindbergh High School. "I—it's—for—" He nearly collapsed as he reached the top of the steps. "I'll tell you later."

It would be rather hard to explain his thinking if he couldn't even get air in his lungs. He should have taken his mother's advice and signed up for a gym class that semester.

He would have asked Carl to help him carry the bag, but the youngest of the Wheezers was famous for his lack of ability to carry anything over two pounds. The extra bag that Jimmy was carrying was at least twenty. Even though Jimmy had grown taller in the past few months, and he no longer had the stick arms of a fourteen-year-old, he was struggling. A lot.

 _It's worth it,_ he reminded himself. Jimmy tried to remind himself why as Carl opened the door for him and he dragged both his backpacks into the school.

After Electron had appeared at the party, Jimmy had worked himself into an anxious frenzy and hadn't been able to sleep for the entire weekend. This morning, he had barely managed to come up with a temporary plan to deal with it, though his brain was still aching from doing so.

"Seriously, Jim, what's in the bag?" Carl asked.

Jimmy put his hands on his knees to catch his breath as they came to a stop by his locker. He spoke as he entered his combination, struggling to remember it for a moment. "I'll tell you later, Carl. We're almost late for first period."

Indeed, it was 7:17, and the warning bell had already rung. Miss Fowl's class was all the way on the other side of the school, and the last time he had been late, he'd had detention for lunch and after school. Old age had not mellowed Miss Fowl's temperament any.

Jimmy's locker swung open with a _creak_ , and he stuffed one of his backpacks inside as fast as he could. "Come on, Carl!"

The two of them rushed off after Jimmy shut his locker, able to move significantly faster now that he was only carrying one backpack. Unfortunately, neither of them were very fast runners, and they reached Miss Fowl's classroom just as the bell rang.

"Mr. Neutron!" Miss Fowl exclaimed as he and Carl stepped into the classroom. Her exclamation was followed by a bird-like sound that all of her students had long since grown used to.

"Sorry, Miss Fowl!" Jimmy said, dragging Carl into the classroom behind him. The poor, overweight boy was whimpering miserably. He couldn't stand conflict. "It won't happen again."

"It had better not, young man," the old teacher said. "Now, Carl, take a seat next to Sheen, and Jimmy, take a seat next to Miss Vortex."

Jimmy's heart slammed on the brakes. Oh, _pluto._

He gulped as he realized the truth. Cindy Vortex was sitting in the seat right next to his, just like when they were kids. Miss Fowl must have been feeling nostalgic.

If Jimmy had been unsure what to say before, he was struck dumb now. He knew that she'd seen him at the party when Electron had shown up, not doing anything. What the _hell_ was he supposed to say?

Jimmy avoided her eyes, though he knew they were on him, as he walked to his seat. If this was how it was bound to be, he might as well move in with Sheen's cousin and change his last name.

"All right, class!" Miss Fowl said, with another squawk. In any other instance, Jimmy would have been among the other students struggling to contain their chuckles. He was too busy finding the strength not to run out of the room as fast as his legs could carry him to notice his teacher's odd behavior.

"Today we will be discussing the effect of Shakespeare's work on the modern world," Miss Fowl droned.

Jimmy tried his best to pay attention, he really did. But it was already hard to pay attention to English in the first place, especially with Miss Fowl's…stimulating voice. And now, with Cindy Vortex sitting next to him? It was like trying to shove Carl through the eye of a needle.

He snuck subtle looks at her from the corner of his eye. She, of course, was listening in apt attention, but seemed unaware that a lock of her hair had escaped from her ponytail. Jimmy beat down the urge to reach over and brush it out of the way with aggressive stubbornness, just like he had when they were younger.

 _This is Cindy_ , he told himself. _Get it together, Neutron!_ Somehow, this strategy seemed less effective now. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that he wasn't a genius anymore. Or the fact that he hadn't seen her in five years.

It took Jimmy about twenty minutes to realize that he was supposed to be taking notes. Especially because this was English, he could use all the help he could get when he was doing homework.

Jimmy waited for Miss Fowl to look away during her lecture, then leaned over and unzipped his backpack. And then he cursed. He'd put away the wrong backpack! In their hurry to get to first period, he must not have realized the difference between his two sacks.

He hesitated for a moment, then raised his hand in defeat. It took Miss Fowl a minute to realize that someone was actually awake during her class, and then she started when she realized that it was Jimmy. "Yes, Jimmy?"

Jimmy shifted uncomfortably in his seat as the attention of the class shifted to him. Especially that of one blonde, Sweden-returned girl. "Um, Miss Fowl…can I go to my locker? I think I left my notebook there." _And my pencil. And basically everything else._

Miss Fowl raised an eyebrow behind her giant spectacles. "What's in your bag now?"

Jimmy swallowed. He couldn't very well tell the truth, now could he? He'd get a month of detentions for sure, plus no end of suspicion cast upon him.

"I…um, put…gym socks in there?"

A chuckle broke out in the back of the classroom—probably Butch—and the rest of the kids in the class soon joined in. Jimmy felt his face turn red and he sank down in his seat, boiling in a stew of embarrassment. Of all things, why had he said that?

To make it all worse, he fully expected some sort of wisecrack from Cindy to make things worse and increase the amount of laughter in the room. For a moment, nothing happened, and he braced for an insult that had been building for five years.

When nothing happened after another moment, and the laughter died down, Jimmy realized that there wasn't going to be a snarky comment. When he sneaked another look at her, she saw that she was looking at him with…sympathy?

No. Cindy Vortex looking at Jimmy Neutron with sympathy? No, that would break the universe. She must have had something in her eye instead.

Miss Fowl rolled her beady black eyes when the laughter faded. "Yes, Jimmy, you may go to your locker. But make it snappy! I won't have anyone skipping class on _my_ watch!"

"Thanks, Miss Fowl!" Jimmy said, scooping up his backpack and dashing out of the room before his embarrassment could deepen.

The hallway was empty, like usual this early in the morning. Most class-skippers waited until right before and right after lunch to make their move. It meant that Jimmy had plenty of privacy to think.

He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand, feeling his exhaustion more than ever. He'd spent far too long worrying about Electron the past nights.

At the reminder of the interloper at Cindy's party, Jimmy felt anxiety flash through him. How could another villain have appeared _now,_ after several years of relative silence in that department?

It had to have something to do with Cindy—which made sense, since Electron had been demanding for her to go with him. But why did he want her? And what was so important that Electron would destroy the whole town over her?

In times like these, Jimmy desperately missed his genius. He would have been able to figure out the answer in far less than a day, and who would have solved the problem with some sort of high-tech gizmo by dinner. Unfortunately, Jimmy had no such access to that intellect, or the gizmos that came with it, anymore. But he would not allow Cindy to be harmed by some metal-plated freak.

Jimmy reached his locker, and resolved to himself that despite his lack of former genius status, he would do everything in his power to stop Electron.

Hopefully he wouldn't get himself killed in the process.

* * *

"Oh, this is _so_ much more appetizing than snow-slop," Cindy said, as a slightly squishy sandwich was plopped onto her tray.

"Girl, you must be out of your mind," Libby said, staring at her own sandwich with disgust.

Cindy rolled her eyes. "You should have seen what they served at SACK."

"Was it sacks?" Libby asked, sarcasm dripping from her voice.

Cindy couldn't even laugh. "Only on Tuesdays, thankfully."

Libby thought about that for a moment, then shuddered. "Maybe a sandwich is okay after all."

Cindy grabbed some chocolate milk and paid the lunch lady at the cashier, noting that the woman hadn't grown any less…er, _grotesque_ in five years.

"So where are we sitting?" Cindy asked, turning around to follow Libby. The tables in the school's cafeteria had been given an upgrade to fit the high schoolers' older bodies, but other than that, the school looked pretty much the same as it had when she was ten.

"Over here," Libby said.

Cindy followed her to a table at the far end of the cafeteria, one already populated by two people.

She rolled her eyes. "You can't be serious."

Sheen Estevez and Carl Wheezer were waiting at the table that Libby was guiding her toward, already waving.

"Hi, Libby and Cindy," they said.

Cindy sighed and swallowed her pride as Libby sat next to Sheen and she was forced to sit next to Carl. She had to admit, she didn't find the thought of sitting with the two boys quite as repugnant as she did when she was a child.

Carl Wheezer was the only one who looked like he hadn't changed a whit since she had left for SACK. He still wore that striped orange shirt and green pants with suspenders, and his shoes still squeaked rather loudly. His red hair was still short yet strange in a way that she wasn't sure how to describe, a lot like Carl himself. And he still wore wooden glasses.

Cindy actually found it comforting that _someone_ hadn't changed in appearance around town. It further proved her theory that not a lot could change in five years.

And she _really_ wanted that theory to be true. Especially after what happened at her party on Saturday…

Cindy cleared her throat to clear her thoughts and took a bite of her sandwich. It was a bit soggy, but still better than what she was used to in Sweden.

"What's new with you?" Sheen asked, putting an arm around his girlfriend. Libby rolled her eyes and ignored him as she took a bite of her own sandwich and gagged.

"Well, my scapula—" Carl started, his voice just as…well, wheezy as five years before.

"Carl, what have we told you about talking about your injured body parts?" Libby said, making a face.

"Sorry." Carl scarfed down his sandwich in one bite, and Cindy was grateful that she was far enough away that the crumbs wouldn't reach her. "How was your first day back, Cindy?"

Cindy thought about that for a moment. One of her teachers that she didn't know, a man named Mr. Navis, had given her two textbooks and a chemistry set for his science class. All of her other teachers had given her similar supplies. To anyone else, their bag would have weighed a ton. To Cindy, whose teachers for the past five years had insisted on at least three textbooks per class, her backpack was as light as a feather.

"It was okay," she said, leaning her head on her hand. "Other than almost being killed this morning!" She shot a not-so-subtle glare at Sheen, who was too busy making a mashed potato volcano to notice.

"Oh, it was fine, Cindy!" Libby said, patting Sheen's hand. "Compared to other days, Sheen's driving was excellent this morning."

Cindy stared at her, jaw open. _Why_ on _earth_ would Libby keep riding with Sheen in the morning, even if he _was_ her boyfriend? She must have been insanely boy-crazy.

Cindy shook her head. _Hormones._

"Hey, where's Jimmy?" Carl asked, licking his fingers clean as he finished his lunch.

"Oh, I know, I know!" Sheen exclaimed, raising his hand like they were in the middle of a class. He put a finger on his chin as he said, "Jimmy asked us not to say anything when he didn't show up at lunch, because— _there he is!_ " Sheen cut himself off suddenly and pointed at a trash can behind the table.

Cindy and Carl turned in their seat to look at the trash bin in question. A moment later, a sigh came from behind it.

"Thanks for that, Sheen," Jimmy said, standing from behind the trash can. He rubbed his left arm awkwardly and avoided eye contact with Cindy.

Today, Neutron was wearing a dark gray hoodie zipped up halfway over a red shirt, with blue jeans and sneakers. It was strange to see him actually change outfits everyday. Strange in a bad way. Not strange in a way that set her heart racing…

Cindy cleared her throat as Neutron sat down next to Sheen and directly across from her, still avoiding eye contact.

"Hi, guys," Neutron said, smiling awkwardly.

"Hi, Jimmy," Carl and Sheen said at the same time.

The lunch table grew silent as Libby, Carl, and Sheen waited for someone to say something. And Cindy knew that they were, because Libby sent her a knowing look at made her want to punch a wall.

Cindy took Neutron's strategy and looked anywhere but at him. She wasn't sure why it was so awkward, but she found it especially hard to say something, considering what had happened at the party two days previous.

Instead, she focused on the backpack next to Neutron's feet. The _second_ backpack at Neutron's feet.

Neutron seemed to notice Cindy's gaze and cleared his own throat before taking the backpack—which was incredibly heavy, judging by how his arms quaked—and placing it on the table. The top was unzipped, and a small handle (almost like for a sword) popped out and rolled over to Cindy.

She looked up curiously at him, and was surprised to find that his clear blue eyes were meeting hers. He opened his mouth to speak, but Sheen cut him off.

"Woah, Jimmy, is that stuff from your lab?"

"Keep your voice down!" Jimmy said, clapping a hand over Sheen's mouth as kids from other tables started to look over. Neutron smiled at them, and they looked away. Then, in a low voice, "Yes, Sheen, it's stuff from my lab."

Cindy wasn't sure why the others looked so surprised at Neutron's confession. Surely he brought inventions from his little shed all the time? She didn't have time to ask any questions before Jimmy was piling some of the gizmos in his bag on the table, making sure that no one else in the cafeteria was paying attention.

She felt her eyes widen. There was a hypo-ray, a scream cannon, even a .250 caliber molecular blaster the size of her hand. The sword hilt—which she now recognized as a laser sword—was one of three. Neutron paused in the middle of pulling out weapons, which under normal circumstances would have gotten anyone else expelled. Then again, this was Retroville, and this was also Jimmy Neutron.

"I-I brought a few things for you," Neutron said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly as he gestured to the devices on the table. Next to him, the others looked shell-shocked. Cindy felt immeasurably confused, both by their actions and that of the big-headed boy across from her.

Jimmy started yammering rapid-fire, listing off the inventions as if she had never seen them before, pausing every once in a while for an unknown reason. With each word, Cindy only grew more and more confused.

"Neutron," she eventually interrupted, "what's all this stuff for?"

The big-skulled fifteen-year-old slowed to a stop, his words dropping off into nothingness. "What do you think they're for, Cindy? To protect yourself from Electron."

Cindy liked to think that she had become a calmer person over the past years. But for some reason (maybe just because it was _Jimmy Neutron_ ), she felt indignation flash in her core. Neutron was telling _her_ to protect herself, after she had single handedly gotten rid of Electron with no assistance from any fancy gadgets while Neutron cowered behind a _trash can?_ The very idea of that loosened her tongue and ignited her rage.

"In case you didn't notice, King Cranium," she said, crossing her arms and sitting back in her seat, "I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

She saw something flash in Jimmy's eyes that looked a lotnlike anger. "In case _you_ didn't notice, Vortex," he said, his voice rising in volume, "Karate moves won't defend you from an _energy blast!_ "

* * *

The other three at the table rolled their eyes in unison as Cindy and Jimmy started to argue again, though none of them rolled their eyes as hard as Libby.

Not for the first time, she thought, _Why don't those two just get a lab?_ Although, she figured that a lab would be the last thing that Jimmy wanted. He had made it painfully clear that talking about his scientific past was painful. Yet here he was, with a bag full of devices that no one at the table really understood. That he had _voluntarily_ gone into his lab for. Jimmy hadn't been _near_ his shed for…well two years, at least, according to Sheen.

A new villain in town. Jimmy Neutron back in his lab. Cindy Vortex had arrived. Libby could almost believe that they were all ten-years old again. Cindy and Jimmy were even arguing like it. Probably for the same reasons, too.

Libby forced herself to listen in again as the yelling reached a fever pitch. The others in the cafeteria weren't even paying attention, already used to it. Though, Libby supposed that living in Retroville gave everyone a "Jimmy-and-Cindy-arguing" resistance.

Jimmy and Cindy had both stood from their seats and were both leaning over the table, their faces not too far apart. Libby resisted the desire to roll her eyes once more. This had happened a lot when they were children, and every time Libby had to resist the urge to get the hard work done for the pair and just shove their faces together to get it over with.

"Well, maybe if you're so worried about me putting myself in danger," Cindy shouted, "maybe next time you should use that genius brain of yours and _actually help!_ "

Libby, Carl, and Sheen immediately knew that a line had been crossed. Jimmy had already been sensitive about his lost intelligence; hearing about it from Cindy was probably like shoving a red-hot cow prod into the wound.

Jimmy's eyes flashed dangerously, and he opened his mouth to say something that they would all probably regret.

Instantly, Carl and Sheen were on the move. Sheen clamped a hand over Jimmy's mouth while Carl grabbed his arms and dragged him away, and Libby did the same to Cindy.

"Libby!" Cindy barked, once Jimmy was safely out of view. "What did you do that for?"

"Cin, shut up and listen," Libby said, crossing her arms. She ignored the indignant look that Cindy sent _her_ way and started to speak. "Two years ago, Jimmy was diagnosed with a brain condition by some doctor that I don't remember the name of."

She watched all of Cindy's angry energy dissipate. "Wh-what?"

As much as Cindy was her friend, Libby thoroughly enjoyed watching the…well, big-mouthed (for lack of a better word) girl struck speechless. Libby decided to continue, channelling all her powers of speech that had been cultivated over five years.

"The doctor said that Jimmy had a rare brain condition that increased intelligence at a young age but took it away later." Libby gave an awkward smile that felt misplaced. She and the others had had a long time to cope with Jimmy's…condition. Granted, Jimmy was still coping, but it was just as hard for his friends. And for someone who had Cindy's strange, bizarre relationship with him…

"Jimmy isn't a genius anymore?" Cindy asked softly.

Libby noted the use of Jimmy's first name but didn't say anything about it. "Yeah. That's why he didn't do anything when Electron came—he _couldn't_ do anything, Cin."

Cindy put a single hand over her face. "I'm an idiot, Libs."

"I can't disagree."

* * *

Cindy fidgeted nervously as she waited for the three boys of the lunch table to return. She felt like such an _idiot!_

No wonder Neutron was so awkward and nervous around her—he must have thought that she would think less of him because he wasn't as smart as he used to be. He couldn't be further from the truth.

Cindy had some experience with people thinking less of her because she couldn't do something. Most notable was her own mother. From a young age, her mother had expected Cindy to be great, enrolling her in intense programs and activities that she usually wanted no part in. The only parts of it that she liked were her karate training and the training of Humphrey. Everything else was hell—especially because she wasn't any good at any of it. She was terrible at piano. She couldn't stand irish dancing. She'd once tried violin and had intentionally broken the instrument in order to quit it. It had never mattered to her mother, who had insisted that Cindy be the best in everything. _Everything._

So, yes. She understood Jimmy Neutron a bit more than she would ever care to admit. It wasn't the same thing, but she understood.

And she fault awful about how she had just treated him. If someone had pointed out one of her inadequacies and deep insecurities—which certain kids in Sweden had been prone to do—she would have felt awful, and horribly angry.

Neutron and his two friends reappeared a few minutes later, from the direction of the bathroom. Jimmy looked significantly calmer, though he did seem to be fairly embarrassed, almost as badly (if not more so) as he had been that morning.

Cindy decided to just say it before her pride could get her to back out of it. "I'm sorry, Neut—Jimmy."

His eyes widened as he sat down. Of all the time together, Cindy could honestly say that she couldn't remember ever apologizing to Neutron. She could understand his surprise, too. Lord, she was understanding him a lot better than she wanted to.

Cindy forced herself to continue speaking, lest she lose her nerve. "I shouldn't have said that."

"It's all right. Cindy." Jimmy spoke hesitantly, as if he wasn't sure what to make of her or her apology.

She needed to keep talking. At least, that's what she told herself, because she felt tremendously awkward just sitting there while everyone else at the table watched. Besides, it would help clear the air.

"I…I don't think less of you."

Now it looked like Neutron's eyes would fall out of his head. Clearly, he hadn't been expecting that to come out of her mouth. "You—don't?"

Cindy shook her head, but could say no more. Partially because she was embarrassed, but also because her arrogance and pride would allow her to go no further.

She smiled a crooked little smile, however. "It was fun to argue again, wasn't it?"

Jimmy smirked, and she thought the sight of it would send her tumbling backward onto the floor simply because it looked so unexpectedly good on his face. "Yeah. It was."

"Tell you what," Cindy said, nodding to herself. She picked up the hilt of the laser sword that had bounced out of Jimmy's bag. "I'll carry one of these around with me. Just in case. But I think this Electron guy was just a fluke."

Oh, if only that were the case.

* * *

 **Please shoot me a review! *shoots finger guns awkwardly***


	5. Chapter 5

Cindy grunted as she adjusted her backpack. At first, she thought it would be easy to carry all these textbooks home. Now she wasn't so sure.

After taking the bus home (something that she was immensely grateful for), Cindy was already counting off the homework assignments that she had to get done. It was significantly lighter than her load back at SACK, and if she was lucky she could get it all done that very night.

At least, she _had_ thought that, until she saw that her mother's car was parked in the driveway. Cindy sighed defeatedly and braced herself for what lay ahead even as she dug out her house key from her pocket.

Cindy unlocked her front door and heard Humphrey bark excitedly when he realized that she was home. She sighed again, closed the door behind her, and set her bag down by the stairs before she turned to her mother, who was waiting on the couch.

"Cynthia," her mother said, not even looking up from her phone. "It is so fortunate that you are here, darling. I have already signed you up for a piano lesson in an hour with your old teacher, followed by an irish clogging lesson with a new teacher, and—"

Cindy started to zone out as her mother listed a bunch of other crazy activities that she'd signed her daughter up for. Even after five years, the flash of annoyance that came at her mother's actions was not unfamiliar. However, the spark of teenage rebellion and her own steely will that had grown over the years provided her with the extra push she needed.

"No, mom," Cindy interrupted, crossing her arms and leaning against the wall. At her feet, Humphrey whined, sensing the incoming confrontation.

Her mother's speech stuttered to a halt. "I'm sorry, what?" Her aristocratic accent faded slightly in her outrage. It was almost humorous.

Cindy shook her head and stood her ground. If there was one thing that Sweden had taught her, it was the need to take a break every once in a while. Her education in Europe had been rigorous. Now that she was home, she just wanted to rest. Especially with someone like Electron in town. "I'm not going to do all that stuff you signed me up for— _without asking me_ , by the way."

Her mother looked dumbfounded, though whether it was by Cindy's decision or the fact that she was standing up to her mother, Cindy couldn't be sure. "But—the colleges—"

"Will already be impressed by the fact that I studied abroad," Cindy said.

She wasn't sure what exactly had gotten into her. When she was younger, she never would have stood up to her mother, and certainly not like this. But Cindy had grown in more ways than one since she left for Sweden, and she would not let her mother intimidate her now.

For a moment, Cindy's mother seemed to be at a loss for words. Then her face started to redden in anger.

The following argument was long and heated and left Cindy wishing for a good, old-fashioned, regular argument with Neutron instead of the woman who'd raised her. Eventually, she didn't even bother to end the conversation, and just stormed up to her room.

It seemed that her return home was going to be significantly harder than she had originally thought.

* * *

"I didn't know you ran track," Cindy said the next day, rubbing her bleary eyes.

"Sure do!" Sheen replied, flexing his nonexistent muscles.

They were all sitting at lunch, though Cindy rather _slumped_. She hadn't slept well the previous night. After she had finished her homework, she had been too angry at her mother to get much sleep. She sincerely hoped that her homelife would be much simpler after the air had been cleared, but she knew that was wishful thinking.

"Did someone get Sheen talking about track again?" Jimmy asked, setting his tray down next to the hyperactive boy in question.

Carl nodded, and Cindy could tell that he was trying hard not to roll his eyes. "We were talking about the track meet tonight."

Cindy stabbed into her green beans with a spork. "I didn't even know Retroville _had_ a track team."

"They're fairly decent," Neutron replied, opening his carton of milk with a shrug. "At least, we don't lose most of the time, like our football team."

At that thought, Cindy's eyes flicked across the cafeteria, over to Butch, who was busy trying to bully a vending machine into functioning properly. No wonder the boy was so grumpy.

"Anyway," Sheen said, dusting his knuckles on his shirt in what was probably meant to be a suave fashion, especially since Libby was once again sitting next to him. "Turns out running from villains makes you _realllllly_ good at running."

At this, Neutron winced. The movement was subtle, but it was enough to draw Cindy's attention—right to the purple bruise forming underneath his left ear. Of course, once she saw that, several other details fell into place like pieces of a puzzle. Neutron's sparse lunch, composed only of chocolate milk and a small container of applesauce. The fact that he had been ten minutes late.

"What happened, Neutron?" Cindy asked him, though she was pretty sure she knew the answer. She tried her best to speak in her most pleasant voice so as to not start another argument. Despite her normal reasons for arguing with Neutron, she wasn't sure that she could handle another argument at that moment. Besides, deep down (maybe not as deep down as she wished), she was concerned.

Jimmy tensed, but when he saw the almost angry look in her eyes, he relented. It was a good thing. If he had lied, Cindy would have cross-examined him quite thoroughly.

"Tommy Richards stole my lunch money and punched me," Neutron admitted, rubbing his neck and avoiding eye contact. He must have seen Cindy's look, because he added, "It's not a big deal. Really."

It took Cindy a moment to remember that she was not supposed to like Neutron, much less _look out_ for him. But it took a great deal of control not to track down this "Tommy Richards" and give him something to think about.

She was back for all of four days, and already she was starting to forget her policy regarding Jimmy Neutron. It simply wouldn't do. She did have a reputation to uphold, after all.

So she made a big show of rolling her eyes, even if inside she was itching to punch Tommy Richards in return. "Come on, Spewtron, stand up for yourself! Not even you should have to endure something like that. Who even is this 'Tommy' anyway?" There! She had masked any concern that she may or may not have had behind a curtain of sardonic disregard.

Jimmy continued to rub the back of his neck. It must have become some sort of nervous habit over the years. "He's the top runner for track. And it's fine, Cindy. I just didn't want to cause a scene."

Now, that was odd. As children, Jimmy _lived_ for causing scenes. But, Cindy supposed things were different now, especially since he didn't have his genius anymore.

"Don't worry, Jimmy!" Sheen exclaimed, thrusting one finger into the air grandly. "I'll put Tommy in his place by beating his score at the track meet today!"

Libby patted her boyfriend's shoulder. "Sheen, you and Tommy are on the same team."

"Oh, right." Sheen deflated for a moment, but his crazy energy just filled him right back up. "Well, I'll beat his time anyway!"

Libby chuckled. "Okay, Sheen." Judging from the hopeless look on her face, Cindy deduced that this Tommy must have been a fast runner indeed.

"You'll all be there, right?" Sheen said, looking around the table.

"You know Jimmy and I will. We never have plans," Carl said.

Neutron shot his friend a glare. "Thanks, Carl." But then he sighed. "Yeah, we'll be there."

"And I'll be there," Libby said, leaning her head on Sheen's shoulder. He grinned.

The others looked at Cindy expectantly. Even though she had never been to a track meet, she decided that it was probably a good thing. It meant less time at her house with her mother, and homework wouldn't be much of a problem.

"All right," she said with a sigh. "Count me in, too."

* * *

Jimmy winced as the crowd roared. How could a group of only twenty kids cheer so loudly?

He pulled his baseball cap lower over his head as a few of the track kids looked up at the bleachers. If he was lucky, Tommy Richards would notice Jimmy and set aside extra time for a beatdown in between matches.

In truth, merely sitting in the bleachers was torture enough. Despite the fact that it was mid-November, the sun was beating down, and the metal of the bleachers was only intensifying the star's beams, turning the seating for the crowd into an easy-bake oven. That, and the fact that sporting events bored Jimmy terribly, combined into a truly miserable experience. The only thing that made it bearable was the chance to see Tommy bested, and the fact that Cindy was sitting next to him. Not that he would ever admit either of those things.

The stadium had taken the school two years to get enough funding from, without any tacky tourist attractions to make money from. It was both a football stadium and a track field, with the red turf surrounding the fake green grass in a large oval. The bleachers around the track were rickety and may or may not have been a safety hazard, but they fit a large crowd of people quite nicely. Unfortunately, less than twenty people had showed up to the match—including the kids from the away team.

Jimmy rubbed the bruise under his ear as Libby cheered Sheen on, giving Jimmy a headache on top of everything else. All he could think was that this had better be worth it.

"Libby, they're just warming up," Carl said, munching on popcorn. When Jimmy tried to take a few kernels, the redhead smacked his hand away.

"I know," Libby replied, almost sheepishly. She was wearing a big foam finger on one hand that would have made Jimmy laugh if he had been itching for a slap to the face. "I'm encouraging him."

As the crowd cheered again (why on earth did they keep doing that?), Cindy leaned forward and shouted, "Which one is Tommy?"

Jimmy shivered, which was completely out of place with the sweltering temperature in the stands. Cindy was awfully close to him, in order to be heard over the small crowd. The hot bleachers suddenly seemed a thousand degrees hotter, which he knew was impossible. He also knew that it didn't matter—any allure that she had felt for him (after countless years of replaying things in his head, he _knew_ there had been at least a little bit) was born of his gigantic brain. Now that he was normal, he was just an average joe, and of little interest to someone like her.

Still, it took him a moment to beat down the waves of attraction that floated through him before he could respond. "I think he's the one that—" Jimmy cut himself off and squinted into the crowd of runners at the track. Since they were seated toward the top of the bleachers, it was harder to see. "That's weird."

"What's weird, Jim?" Carl asked, overhearing.

Jimmy pulled his hat lower in an attempt to block the sun out of his eyes. "I don't think Tommy is actually down there."

"Yeah, that is weird," Libby replied, shading her eyes with her foam finger. "Why wouldn't the star of the track team be here?"

Jimmy wasn't looking, but he sensed Cindy rolling her eyes. "Maybe he finally got too big for his britches and decided to quit."

"That's horrible!" Carl exclaimed. "How will we win now?" The other three stared at him. "What?"

Libby rolled her eyes as well. "Maybe he's just late."

Jimmy crossed his arms. "Or maybe he's beating up another nerd." He couldn't _stand_ bullies.

"Well, if he _is_ late, there's no way he'll make the match now," Cindy said, pointing down at the track. "The race is about to start."

She was right. As Jimmy squinted down at the track and regretted their decision to sit higher up, the sprinters were gathering into a line on the track, getting ready to start. He thought he could make out the Coach, looking none too happy on the sidelines. Tommy must not have made it! As much as his mother would have scolded him for it, Jimmy couldn't help but feel happy, not to mention relieved.

"I want a clean race!" the referee shouted, quieting the crowd temporarily as they listened in. The referee—an old man with no hair and an old-fashioned, curly mustache—shot Coach Grubber a glare. "Which means no trampling!"

"Aw, come on!" Grubber complained. "That's the best part!"

Jimmy shuddered as he remembered the many, many times he had been trampled under Coach Grubber's watch. Mostly by the girl sitting next to him.

"On your marks," the ref shouted. It seemed that everyone in the stand held their breaths. Why, Jimmy didn't know. "Get set!"

Jimmy rolled his eyes as several people leaned forward in their seats. Surely the race wasn't—

"GO!"

It was almost as if someone had fired a gun, and the sprinters were the bullets. Immediately, all of the runners shot off (though one sprained his ankle instantly).

Jimmy had forgotten just how fast Sheen was. He hadn't come to the last few track meets, mostly because they were far away, at other schools, and he had homework to catch up on.

In a few moments, Sheen Estevez had taken the lead, running far ahead of the other track competitors.

"YEAH! SHEEN!" Libby shouted, making everyone in a two-yard radius cover their ears and turn to glare at her. She ignored them.

"He could win the whole race!" Carl exclaimed. "Usually, Tommy is in the lead."

As one, the group of friends started to cheer on the jersey that read _Estevez,_ and even though Sheen wasn't the most popular, the rest of the kids from Lindbergh High School joined in as well. If possible, this only seemed to fuel Sheen's speed, and Jimmy thought he could see a giant grin on his friend's face as he neared the finish line. A moment later, it was all over, and the Retroville portion of the stands exploded into cheers.

"Is that it?" Cindy asked, once the noise had settled down. On the track, the referee was preparing to give the top three racers their medals.

"Did you not have races in Sweden?" Carl said, finishing off his popcorn.

She shook her head. "No. Our school sport was ice fishing."

Jimmy grimaced at that thought. Fishing was bad enough by itself— _ice_ fishing would be even worse. Still, he couldn't resist a jibe. "And I bet you were the school champion, right Vortex?"

Cindy glared at him. Usually, it would have aggravated him, but instead Jimmy found that his heart gave a strong little tug. Turns out he missed that more than he thought he would.

"For your information, Frankenhead, I—"

 _WHOOSH!_

Rockets. Great. Despite the deafening noise that had just taken over the field, Jimmy heard Cindy sigh next to him and say, "Not again."

Sure enough, a moment later, a large, robotic suit appeared in the sky, just like the one from Cindy's party. As if on cue, everyone in the stands started screaming—although this time, it was for a very different reason. Jimmy was forced to hold onto the bottom of his seat with both hands as the bleachers started to shake with the force that people were propelling themselves away. In a very short amount of time, the stadium was almost completely empty, save for Jimmy, Cindy, Libby, Carl, Sheen, and a hovering Electron in his robot suit.

Electron's suit looked much the same as it had last time, though the afternoon light revealed that the suit was actually a dark blue, not black. Jimmy swallowed as he realized that the suit's legs had been fully repaired, and the weakness had been covered with steel plates. Defeating the villain this time would not be as easy—especially because whoever he was seemed to have extensive experience with robotic suits, if the way he balanced himself on the rockets coming from his feet was any indication.

"Cindy Vortex," Electron barked out in his electronic voice. He sounded much less polite than last time. The four in the stands stood up, while on the track Sheen stared up at Electron with an annoyed look on his face. "You have to come with me."

Beside him, Jimmy watched Cindy's stubborn nature and pride take over. Her back straightened, her fists clenched, and she had this defiant look in her eyes that was extremely familiar. "I don't _have_ to do anything, buster. Why don't you take your fancy suit and go dive into a lake of liquid nitrogen?"

Jimmy couldn't see Electron's facial expressions through his metal mask, but he could practically _feel_ the waves of anger radiating from the villain. The feeling was familiar; Jimmy could remember a similar (if not quite so murderous) type of anger born from Cindy's taunts.

"Then," Electron said, still hovering above the stadium, "I guess I'll have to convince you somehow!"

Maybe it was instinct born from his adventures as a child—maybe it was just luck. But somehow, Jimmy knew what was about to happen before it happened.

"Move!" he shouted, grabbing the back of both Cindy and Carl's shirts and shoving them off the side of the bleacher. He tumbled off a heartbeat later and felt Libby follow before heat streaked over their heads, striking the spots where they'd been standing with brutal force.

Jimmy braced himself and landed on the concrete below with a hard _thud_. Pain flashed along his arm, which he had landed rather hard on, but a moment later someone was pulling him up by his shirt.

"Thanks," Jimmy panted, wincing as he felt a scrape on his left arm.

"Get moving, Neutron!" Cindy hissed, pushing him forward, to where the others were already running—toward the field, toward Electron.

Jimmy would never admit it to anyone, but he hesitated for a microsecond. It had been quite a long time since he'd faced a villain, and he'd always had his genius to back him up before. But then he remembered the promise he'd made to do what he could, and he didn't even have time to curse before he was hurling himself forward as another energy blast from Electron rocked the earth beneath his feet.

Jimmy heard the ignition of a laser sword behind him as he came to a stop on the track field, where Sheen and the others awaited. Above, Electron still hovered, so close that Jimmy could feel the heat from the rockets on the man's suit. He turned in midair to look at them, gathered by a few hurdles. Cindy came to a halt next to Jimmy, the glowing green blade of energy in her hand.

"What do we do?" Libby asked.

It was a sobering question. All five of them had rushed headlong into danger without much of a plan. Jimmy strained his brain trying to come up with one—he tried so hard that his eyes rolled back into his head, but nothing happened. No brain blasts.

Well, this was problematic.

"How nice of you all to unite against me," Electron said, crossing his metallic arms. "Too bad it won't last."

And then the strangest thing happened. Electron looked right at Jimmy, and he could have _sworn_ he heard the villain softly say, "Stay out of this, you little dweeb." Then he was lifting his energy cannon and aiming it right at Jimmy's forehead.

 _Oh, pluto,_ Jimmy thought, as the energy cannon fired, sending a laser beam racing toward his skull.


End file.
